Kill the Coach with Kindness

I walked into the UCCS gym two nights ago  for the women's volleyball game (which had already started) and I saw someone on the back row waving and smiling at me! It was my former high school volleyball coach at Coronado High School from my freshman and sophmore year.  She was SO, so, so excited to see me! Like REALLY excited to see me!  She gave me the biggest hug.  She LOVES me! haha! The neat thing about it is that  EVERYONE that is ANYONE in the volleyball world knows her!

            Her name is Joan Powell.  She coached volleyball at Coronado High School for 32 years.  I was there for the last 2 years before she retired.  She was one of the most successful coaches in the history of Colorado interscholastic sports.  She is a USA  Division I Volleyball national official and has been for over 20 years.   She  always officates the NCAA semi-final and final matches and I love to watch her on television.  AAAANND she was team manager for the USA Women's Olympic Volleyball team in the Beijing Olympics.   She is the President of the USA Volleyball Board of Directors.

            And SHE was excited to see ME??!!  The tall, awkward freshman who showed up for tryouts one day who had never played volleyball before?!!  


  Yeah, I did work hard once I made the freshman team....hard enough (summer camps, trips to the church gym with my Dad) that when I showed up for tryouts before my sophomore year, she saw me playing and pointed at me and said " YOU!!! OVER THERE!!!" and pointed to where the varsity players were hitting. I was a starter on the varsity team that year. So I did improve, no doubt, but I know it wasn't my skill she loved.   Our high school took in kids from across the city from all kinds of different backgrounds.  I remember the night of the awards banquet feeling so awkward when she made a big deal giving me the award for the" highest GPA"...which was nice but, yeah, i would rather have been MVP.  But I think the real reason she loved me so much was because that I wasn't a MEAN girl haha!  And there were plenty of those!  She liked my naive, mormon-girl innocence.  I didn't stay naive long with all the locker room talk! THAT was an education!  Who needed sex ed classes when you have the locker room?

      I learned so much from Coach Powell.  She worked me hard and she had incredible faith in my ability as a middle blocker and as a team player.

             Whatever the reason i am a "stand-out" in Coach Powell's book, I feel honored!  Tuesday night I was a VIP for a VIP...can't get much better than that!

My Quotes for the Week

(sent to me by text from my wonderful dad)

"No one has ever drowned in sweat"
-Lou Holtz (former coach for Notre Dame) 

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness"
-Seneca

How I Survived...

This week I was feeling a little down, 

stressed, and worried about things, 

and well...

pretty much felt like jumping off a cliff!

Ok...maybe not, 

but I did at least feel like

eating cookies and ice cream into a 
state of delirium.

But I was saved when  

I found the *NSYNC Christmas CD 
in my glove compartment 

and decided 

it was time to pull it out again.

It IS, after all, the middle of October, 

and I DO have to listen to it at least 

543 times 

before the 25th of December to get my fix!  

Thanks Justin (I will always love you the most, 

and I proudly predicted your solo career 
when I was a young, star-stuck girl...

and I must admit 

I had your No-Strings-Attached action figure 
sitting on my dresser), 

and JC (you are my 2nd favorite and the 2nd cutest), 

and the others (who did not quite capture my heart the same). 

Listening to that CD completely 
brightened my mood 

and now I'm ready for 
snow,
hot chocolate, 

late nights driving around looking at Christmas lights, 
decorated trees,
fried tortilla snowflakes, 

blankets,
holiday movies, 

Chinese restaurants,
and pedal bread.

I'm not sure that anything ever will 

replace this CD at Christmas time.    

I know one thing for sure...

it is hands down the most romantic  
Christmas music ever!

When I get married it will come with 
"the package" ...

take it or leave me! :)

P.S. I made it through the week...

WARM and FUZZIES

 Help Make Pharmacology Go Away..

(October 2009 Obsessions)


DIET COKE...

 I am a Diet Coke SNOB and I will travel distances to get to a gas station with the
exact, right kind of Diet Coke... 

  With a shot of Cherry Coke (caffeinated, only because you CAN tell the difference)

  with crushed ice (an absolute),

 and a short straw (prevents face poking while driving).

Peanut M&M's 

and I believe ALL colors hold equal value...

Engagement Pictures

I LOVE People who are in LOVE!

I do believe that I have become an expert
 in determining how CRAZY they are for each other
 by looking at their engagement pictures, haha!

 And every couple has unique quirks that you can see when they POSE together.

 I have seen a few AWKWARD pictures.
haha!!!

 Comments that couples write on each other's wall
 Especially when you know that they really, really mean what they say.


Dancing With the Stars

I LOVE watching the girl professional dancers' incredible bodies...simply stated!

Hoodies, sweats, slippers....

Pei Wei Restaurant

 a weekly regimen.

They know me! haha

 they know my order (Kids Wei Honey Seared Chicken with brown rice),

AND they give me a free drink everytime (because i'm such a faithful patron!)

Two fortune cookies~one at the beginning and one at the end.

Homemade rolls...

 i am learning this great art of roll making

 and it is THE greatest indulgence! (after chocolate)

SCARY MOVIES
On the list for the month of October:
Hocus Pocus
When A Stranger Calls
What Lies Beneath
Skeleton Key
Disturbia
Old scary movies
and, of course, a classic
Mary Kate and Ashley's Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (haha!)


Victoria's Secret....

whats NOT to love!

All you have to do is just walk into the pink store and feel feminine and beautiful and sexy...
Fragrances, lip gloss, underwear...
Even though not many see what I purchase,
I see it and i feel its superhuman power....I'm wearing it!

Can't Ask For A Better Place to Live...

(Sunday between General Conference Sessions)

Hot Tub Talk over Pillow Talk ANYDAY!

There is nothing better than getting into the hot tub late at night.....

with my mom!  haha!

We stay in sometimes for hours on end (like seriously our skin is gross when we get out!) 

But I learn a lot out there in my hot tub in the forest behind my house. 

Recently I was freaking out (have done quite a bit lately) about what I'm going to do after I'm done with nursing.  Did I pick the right school? Am I where I'm suppose to be right now?  On the right path?  What if I'm missing out not being somewhere else? I look at my friend's facebook pictures and feel that I'm missing out on 3 am parties and road trips and meeting lots of new people.

Am I meeting the people I need to know right now? Should I be investing more in certain relationships? 


Mom's advice: "Relax and trust in the path you are on. You are so blessed!"

 She told me to just make sure I'm doing 3 little things:

Feeding My Spirit

Strengthening My Body

Loving and serving in some small way everyday

I'm gonna try to follow her advice.  I know I'm blessed!  I'm going to trust that the Lord will lead me down a great path.  There isn't just one path for me to follow.  There are many paths that I can choose.  I'm just on one now....and it looks like the future is bright!

“I see my path, but I don't know where it leads.

Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me
to travel it.”